Australia's horticultural industries are using the annual movement of tens of thousands of beehives to fight the destructive Varroa mite.

Experts say it's only a matter of time until the parasitic mite, which attacks honeybees, crosses Australian shores.

Gerald Martin is chairman of the Pollination R and D Advisory Committee, which is working with industry and government to keep the mite out of the honeybees that service two thirds of Australia's food industries.

"What we're trying to do is to look at where the quarantine lines might have to be drawn to try to hold the spread of this little mite, and secondly, we're then trying to look at what effect that's going to have on the movement of hives."